- WEBINAR: Impacts of Fresh Water Harmful Algal Blooms on Recreational Beneficial Uses from 12pm to 1pm. Hosted by the California Lake Management Society. Join by phone: 872-240-3212, Access code: 721-908-493 or Click HERE to join online.
- Earth Day Future 50: A Celebration from 1:30pm to 3:00pm. Hosted by Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Click here to register.
How a trickle of water is breathing life into the parched Colorado River Delta: “The Colorado River once flowed with so much water that steamboats sailed on its wide, meandering stretches near the U.S.-Mexico border. When the environmentalist Aldo Leopold paddled the river’s delta in Mexico nearly a century ago, he was filled with awe at the sight of “a hundred green lagoons.” Now, what’s left of the river crosses the border and pushes up against the gates of Morelos Dam. Nearly all the remaining water is shunted aside into Mexico’s Reforma Canal, which runs toward fields of cotton, wheat, hay and vegetables in the Mexicali Valley. ... ” Read more from Arizona Central here: How a trickle of water is breathing life into the parched Colorado River Delta
Dan Walters: California water war re-ignited: “The COVID-19 pandemic, we have been told, is transforming how we live, but one aspect of life in California appears immune to change: the state’s perennial war over water. President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom may have set aside their incessant squabbling over most issues to cooperate on the pandemic, but they are poised for showdown over who controls the state’s vital water supply. … ” Read more from CalMatters here: Dan Walters: California water war re-ignited
How can California fight wildfires in the middle of a pandemic? In a few months, we’ll likely find out: “No one knows exactly how this coming fire season will shake out, but experts and fire officials agree the COVID-19 pandemic will make an already hard job much tougher. Fire agencies and emergency managers are now planning how they’ll fight wildfires, issue evacuation orders, set up shelters and handle power shutoffs in the face of the massive challenge of simultaneously coping with a highly infectious disease. … ” Read more from KQED here: How can California fight wildfires in the middle of a pandemic? In a few months, we’ll likely find out
150 water and agricultural organizations urge Congress and the White House to address Western water challenges (press release): “A coalition of 150 organizations representing water and agricultural interests in the western U.S. urged Congress and President Trump today to address aging Western water infrastructure as further measures are considered to help the U.S. economy recover from the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of safety and stability provided by domestic food production,” the groups stated in separate letters to Congress and the president. “As this crisis has pointed out, a stable domestic food supply is essential and of national security interest. For farmers and ranchers to survive, and for food to continue to be produced here in the American West, a stable water supply is a necessary part of any conversation about our national food security.” ... ” Read more from the California Farm Bureau Federation here: 150 water and agricultural organizations urge Congress and the White House to address Western water challenges
Drought hobbles farmers in California, Texas, Florida: “As farmers deal with supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, drought conditions have gripped California, Florida, parts of the Southwest and south Texas. The drought means additional expense for some farmers to find water or bring their livestock to a water source. It also increases the cost and a lack of selection at grocery stores for some crops grown in the United States. … ” Read more from UPI here: Drought hobbles farmers in California, Texas, Florida
This week in water: “Buildings that have been shut down for weeks could have contaminated water in their pipes.
The American West is suffering from a “megadrought”—something that has not occurred for about 500 years. Flooding that used to occur once every 50 years could happen daily by the end of the century. New evidence suggests that former Republican governor Rick Snyder knew about the water crisis in Flint and lied about it. Throwing shade to save the Great Barrier Reef.” Listen to podcast or read stories here: This week in water
Estuaries are warming at twice the rate of oceans and atmosphere: “Estuaries on the south-east coast of Australia are warming at twice the rate of oceans and the atmosphere, a new study has found. Researchers say the apparent accelerated impact from climate change on estuaries could adversely affect economic activity and ecological biodiversity in rivers and lakes worldwide. Dr Elliot Scanes from the University of Sydney said: “Our research shows that estuaries are particularly vulnerable to a warming environment. This is a concern not only for the marine and bird life that rely on them but the millions of people who depend on rivers, lakes and lagoons for their livelihoods around the world.” ... ” Read more from Science Daily here: Estuaries are warming at twice the rate of oceans and atmosphere
Warmest oceans on record could set off a year of extreme weather: “The world’s seas are simmering, with record high temperatures spurring worry among forecasters that the global warming effect may generate a chaotic year of extreme weather ahead. Parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans all hit the record books for warmth last month, according to the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information. The high temperatures could offer clues on the ferocity of the Atlantic hurricane season, the eruption of wildfires from the Amazon region to Australia, and whether the record heat and severe thunderstorms raking the southern U.S. will continue. … ” Read more from Japan Times here: Warmest oceans on record could set off a year of extreme weather
Klamath River: Parties support request for Supreme Court review in water takings case: “Dozens of organizations have urged the United States Supreme Court to accept review of decisions of lower Courts in the long-running “takings” lawsuit (formally Baley v. United States) concerning the re-allocation of Klamath Project irrigation water to endangered species in 2001. A month ago, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case, explaining that the lower courts had misunderstood and misapplied western water law and bypassed state authority over adjudication and administration of water rights. ... ” Read more from the Herald & News here: Parties support request for Supreme Court review in water takings case
Siskiyou County: Local snowpack is less than half of average: “Unseasonably warm temperatures between a series of small storms in March kept local snowpack at a lower than normal level, the Klamath National Forest reported last week. According to measurements taken in the first days of April, snowpack is at 47% of the historic average snow height and at 43% of the historic Snow Water Equivalent, referred to as SWE. The measurements were taken as part of the statewide California Cooperative Snow Survey Program, KNF said, which helps the state forecast the amount of water available for agriculture, power generation, recreation and stream flow releases later in the year. ... ” Read more from the Siskiyou Daily News here: Local snowpack is less than half of average
Dry season with summer fast approaching renews drought threat in Sonoma County: “Battered by fires, flooding, power outages and a mass evacuation in recent years, Sonoma County residents now have to brace for revival of the D-word — for drought. Beneath the rolling green hills and blooming spring flowers lies a grim recollection of the most recent five-year drought, which ended in 2016. … ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat here: Dry season with summer fast approaching renews drought threat in Sonoma County
DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Voluntary agreement framework is a starting point with an uncertain end; The improbable comeback of spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River; Jared Blumenfeld podcast: The Farallones – California’s Gallapagos; and more …
Image credit: CA streamflow assessment map, courtesy of Belize Lane. From this paper: Lane, B. A., Dahlke, H. E., Pasternack, G. B., & Sandoval‐Solis, S. (2017). Revealing the diversity of natural hydrologic regimes in California with relevance for environmental flows applications. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 53(2), 411-430.
